PARENT BOOKLET 2021 – 22 1 The Malling School THE MALLING SCHOOL WAY We are very proud that our school is officially recognised as a ‘School of Character’ by the Association of Character Education. The development of our students’ character is central to everything we do at The Malling School and we continually strive to ensure our students follow what we refer to as ‘The Malling School Way’. ‘The Malling School Way’ is the foundation of our school and is something we are very proud of. We have identified three core character values that we feel perfectly summarise ‘The Malling School Way’. We encourage all our staff and students to strive to show these character traits. Our core character values are: “Caring, Determined and Reflective” Our first core value is being ‘caring’. We want our students to be caring and will continue to encourage them to look after others and provide for their needs. We stress the importance of putting others first and concerning themselves with how everyone is treated. We show that being caring means supporting those around you, however you can. Our second core value is being ‘determined’. We will continue to teach our students that being determined means you are willing to focus your efforts on challenging activities and keeping going especially when things are difficult. It means trying your best all the time, no matter what else is happening. Our last core value is being ‘reflective’. We will always teach our students that being reflective means you are able to consider possible alternatives. It means you can look back on what you and others have done and consider how to improve in the future. It means our students are always open to considering how best to develop. As a school, we are totally committed to the overall quality of students’ education in addition to achieving excellent exam outcomes. Because of this, we will continue to develop our students’ character through the daily delivery of character education through ‘The Malling School Way’. 2 The Malling School I would like to take this opportunity to explain the two main ways in which character education is taught in our school. I would encourage you to discuss these with your child(ren): 1. The Malling School Way lesson This lesson is delivered every morning between 8.45am – 9.20am in what was historically referred to as Form Time. The Malling School Way (TMSW) lesson incorporates the following from Monday-Friday: a. Collective Reading – Many of our amazing staff have volunteered to record themselves narrating a chapter from our chosen books. These are played to every form in Years 7-10 twice a week during their TMSW lesson. The relevant pages are displayed under a classroom visualiser so the story can be followed visually as well as being listened to via classroom speakers. Each chapter is then analysed so that new language is discussed, moral dilemmas are debated and character is analysed. b. Inspirational Figures – One TMSW lesson a week is dedicated to our students learning about incredible people from the past who achieved amazing and inspirational things that we firmly believe our students should know and learn about. Examples of figures previously learnt about included Mary Seacole, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Ernest Shackleton, Emmeline Pankhurst, William Wilberforce, Millicent Fawcett, Alan Turing, Learie Constantine and Walter Tull. We discuss how our core character values of Caring, Determined and Reflective are displayed through the actions and deeds of these inspirational figures. 3 c. Personal, Social, Health & Citizenship Education (PSHCE) lessons – One TMSW lesson a week focuses on developing the knowledge, skills and attributes to keep our students healthy and safe and to prepare them for life and work. We discuss how our core character values of Caring, Determined and Reflective are needed to help our students make the right choices in life. Examples of topics covered include leadership, discussing emotions, bullying, online safety, identity, rights & respect and mental health. d. Assembly – One TMSW lesson a week is delivered by a Pastoral Leader in the form of a whole year group assembly. Topics linked to our collective reading, inspirational figures and PSHCE lessons are discussed as well as important national and international days and other significant events. Our core character values of Caring, Determined and Reflective are central to these assmblies. 4 The Malling School Personal Development & Character Education Pathways Every student at The Malling School is expected to follow a particular Personal Development Pathway (PDP), depending on their year group. PDP focus on the achievement and enjoyment that can be found outside of normal lesson time. ‘One Student, Four Pathways’, as shown below: CLUBS YR 7 PDP TMS PASSPORT CLUBS YR 8 PDP SCC TMS PASSPORT TMS STUDENT CLUBS YR 9 PDP DofE TMS PASSPORT CLUBS YR 10 PDP DofE TMS PASSPORT 5 Clubs Students will choose at least one extra-curricular club to join and attend regularly throughout the academic year. We have a wide range of clubs delivered by our staff that give our students amazing opportunities that they would not necessarily experience in their normal curriculum. Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) Unit Students can become enrolled as Sea Cadets in our very own school based unit. There is the opportunity to join our Sea Cadet Corp Unit towards the end of Year 7 once a student is 11 years and 8 months old. Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award Scheme Every Year 9 student will participate in and achieve the DofE Bronze Award Scheme. There will also be the opportunity for our students to participate in the Silver Award in Year 10 should they wish to do so. TMS Cultural Passport At TMS, we want to educate our students in a cultural context. Culture is an essential ingredient for developing character and leading a fulfilling and richly rewarding life. Culture helps us to see the world differently and understand our place within it. A rich cultural heritage builds our sense of who we are and where we are from, affirms our identity and helps us to build our resilience and self-esteem. Kent is largely rural, extensively coastal, with internationally important arts and heritage, post-industrial estuary towns and inspirational cultural landscapes. It has a distinctive offer. Our county is the UK’s main gateway to Europe, and with its unique location between mainland Europe and London, is well positioned to maintain and grow an international outlook. We want our students to take advantage of this and have created a list of places to visit. Students will be taught about this during their P1 TMSW lesson. 6 The Malling School Student Support Our pastoral systems are recognised as a real strength of the school. Our year group system is fundamental to most of what we do at TMS. Each year group is led by a Pastoral Leader and supported by a non-teaching Guidance Manager. Each year group has eight tutor groups of roughly twenty students, generally led by two tutors. The students are with tutors for half an hour each day during Period 1, an essential part of our school day when our Personal Development & Character Education curriculum is delivered. We call this lesson ‘The Malling School Way’ lesson, as described at the start of this booklet. Weekly assemblies are led by the Pastoral Leader. Our Year 11 and 6th Form students also have their own assembly on a weekly basis so they are best prepared for the final year of their studies. Routine day-to-day issues are resolved in Period 1 by the Form Tutor. Complex issues are supported by the Guidance Manager who can spend more time during the day communicating with students and their families and is often the person parents go to for advice. For more serious issues the Pastoral Leader will support them as they are empowered to make decisions and able to resolve even the most difficult problems at the highest levels. Pastoral Leaders work very closely with the Pastoral Deputy Headteacher. This structure means that every student and parent have a named team of staff who are responsible for the student’s educational welfare, creating strong relationships between parents, staff and students. 7 Transferring from Primary School We recognise the importance of a smooth transition from primary school and the process starts the minute we receive your application. Before arriving for the first day in September we will have been in continuous communication with you. We will also send you our newsletters and other updates in the months before you officially start so that the whole family can feel part of our school from day one. Below are some important dates for our transition programme for 2021-22 March 2021 An Introductory Letter and Welcome Pack is sent out welcoming you to the school March – May 2021 Staff from TMS visit primary schools to learn about the new children Thursday 20th May 2021 Transition Parents’ Evening (Covid Reliant) March – May 2021 Transition consultation with parents and children (if parents want) Thursday 8th July 2021 Induction Day – Students spend the day at TMS Thursday 8th July 2021 Induction evening for parents (Covid Reliant) Summer School Week of 9th-13th August 2021 September 2021 Settling in parents evening Our pastoral system is recognised as an outstanding feature of the school and is key to a successful transition to our school. You will find more details about our pastoral system on page 7. Mrs Lucy Platt Primary Transition Co-Ordinator [email protected] 8 The Malling School Summer School 9TH-13TH August 2021 This year we will continue to offer our popular Summer School.